Final Things

On Dr. Weber's syllabus for Worship class and other classes (including choir) there is always a day toward the end of the semester reserved for "Final Things." I read that and it seems that there is a world of emotions wrapped up in those two words. One is thrilled to be close to a vacation, but sad that one part of life is over. All good things must come to an end. This choir tour is now over and many of us will only remember the best things that happened on the trip. I am glad it works out that way. When I think of my trip to Europe with the choir a couple of years ago, I think of the beautiful places I visited and that wonderful concert in the village church in Estonia, but it is always Kenneth (with whom I shared a room) and Meredith my wife who remind me that I was very very sick on that trip. It is like a way God shows us his grace by allowing us not to think of just the negative aspects of the tour.

We performed at Augsburg Lutheran Church last night. The performance came off very well. Our prayers for focus and finishing well were answered. It is indeed a tough thing to finish well, but I believe that we achieved it. My friend Joseph a student at Wake Forest, an alum of L-R said that we sounded the best that he had heard of us. Many people were impressed with our offering. The Bach that the college singers performed was almost all the way "there" in terms of performance. All in all, the performance was a good final tour performance. We eagerly anticipate offering our gifts this Sunday evening for our Hickory family.

The dance party that the choir enjoyed was very tiring. I made it through one half of a song and then realized I was exhausted. I am getting older I guess. Michael Jackson was not the star of the dance party. This marked a great transition for this event.

A couple final observations... John Ross was an excellent leader on this tour. His patience was astounding. I don't know how he did it. It seemed that the choir was full of chatterboxes this go-round and therefore really irritating at times.

I feel that in order for our economy to get back to where it needs to be, it would be a good move for choirs everywhere to go on tour frequently and allow choir members days off to spend money. I personally came in under my food budget and was thrilled. However, you should have seen the bags and bags and bags of stuff people were buying. Useless stuff... nick-nacks that were worth nothing, people bought up. Thousands of dollars spent over the course of the week on expensive lunches and junk and do-dads that will get lost when returning home. I must admit that I found a great CD of Palestrina's Masses at Borders, but this was the only thing that I bought that was outside of food. I don't think that I had ever been so keenly aware of how much money can be spent on a choir tour... so there is another observation...

Mr. Ross observed and reminded us of Dr. Weber's selflessness. He stated that he had been around many composers and had never seen such a selfless composer. We all know that Dr. Weber can be a bear sometimes, but it always seems to be in favor or to the advantage of his students. This is definitely true. I got to thinking about this selflessness in Dr. Weber's compositional process and was inspired. Here is a man who for the most part has dedicated his life to composing for the church. He has, through his compositions, enabled congregations to not only hear, but to sing scripture effectively and with vigor. There is a great selflessness behind this that is bigger than Dr. Weber, it is a gift from the Holy Spirit that we can all access if we are willing. This is a lesson I have learned on this tour... selflessness.

All in all---good tour. We missed you Dr. Weber, our conductor and mentor and friend. Many prayers in the months to come for your speedy recovery.